


Welcome to Staruruka's, how can I help you?

by AveryUnit



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Non-Despair, F/M, Multi, Slight spoilers, hope's peak isnt a thing so SHSL arent either
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-13
Updated: 2017-10-30
Packaged: 2018-12-15 01:19:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11795451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AveryUnit/pseuds/AveryUnit
Summary: Taking up a part-time job in a coffee shop recommended by your friend so that you can save up money for a piano faster is all well and good until a mysterious, polite, white-haired boy walks in one day and involuntarily makes your heart beat faster.





	1. Meeting

“Akamatsu, hey. Can you cover for me?”

Ryoma Hoshi didn’t even let his co-worker return the greeting before he scratched behind his neck and let his usually stoic face turn into an exasperated one. Kaede tucked her phone into her--thankfully still dry--raincoat pocket and hurried into the back of the cafe, the short barista trailing behind her. She locked gazes with Yukizome, who was busy cleaning tables and returned the wide grin she got from her.   
  
“I just got here, but sure, something happen? By the way, hi.” The pianist rushed her sentence as she entered the break room, leaving the door open for Hoshi to go through and close himself. She took off her hood and shook off the droplets of rain that managed to get into her tucked hair somehow and only then noticed Hajime Hinata, who seemed to be in the middle of scrolling through his phone until she arrived. “Good evening, senpai!” She waved and smiled, taking off her coat and getting tangled up in the bag she forgot to take off her shoulders first.   
  
“‘Evenin’.” He returned the wave half-heartedly. “I thought I told you to call me ‘Hinata-kun’. I feel like an old man otherwise.” The teen replied, eyes tired from supposedly a full day of dealing with rambunctious customers and even more bizarre orders. And he still had seven more hours to go. Kaede felt sorry for the full-timer.   
  
“Right, sorry, Hinata-kun!” After setting everything in her locker, the girl turned to Hoshi, who was now leaning against the wall, now dressed in his leather jacket and weird horned hat. “So, what happened?” Her face turned neutral as she tied her apron, remembering she never got an answer.   
  
Hoshi adjusted his hat as he sighed. “Other cafe I work at got a truckload of customers and I got called in since we’re short on staff.”   
  
The younger girl nodded. “Juggling multiple jobs sounds like a hassle…”   
  
“Eh, pay’s good, and both jobs I have are the same, just that I get to take care of cats at the other place. ‘sides, I don’t gotta juggle work  _ and  _ school, unlike the majority of ya toddlers workin’ here.”   
  
The girl laughed, feeling more at ease as she saw the man’s featured form into a small smirk. “Okay, then. But, why not get Yukizome-senpai or Naegi-kun?”   
  
“Yukizome’s busy with cleaning  _ and  _ waitressing and Naegi’s late.”   
  
“And Hinata-kun?”   
  
They both turned to the aforementioned barista and waiter in one, who looked like he was about to fall asleep at any minute and stared at the dim light of his phone. He blinked, sensing the two pairs of eyes on him and paused for a bit before groaning out “I’m on break.”   
  
“Right.” Kaede nodded and put her hands on her hips. “Okay, go ahead Hoshi-kun. Remember though, you owe me a favor!”   
  
“I will. Thanks, kiddo. See ya later.” Hoshi saluted and exited the room. Saying her own goodbyes to Hajime, who reciprocated them with a thumbs up, Kaede left as well. Waving once again to an eager and smiling Yukizome, the teenager waltzed behind the counter and started her (and Hoshi’s) shift.    
  
“Staruruka’s” was a name that the owner, Ruruka Andou, insisted and swore up and down (even after her employees repeated ‘we get it, you can stop now’) her manager Kizakura came up with and only stuck with it because she was going to open a pastry shop across the street anyway and the cafe might as well have the more boring, less elegant name since she wasn’t going to be there most of the time. Ruruka ran around the city a lot and seeing her grace the area for more than fifteen minutes could be considered a miracle. What she did, the employees didn’t know and were kind of scared to ask. Everyone settled on ‘business stuff’ and Kizakura nodded, smiled and took a swig of his flask, but not before mumbling a cryptic ‘close enough’ that made everyone sit in an uncomfortable silence for a good hour or two.   
  
Despite not being Ruruka’s favorite shop that she owned, it was still pretty nice and spiffy and the food and coffee were to die for. Thankfully, nobody linked to the cafe died, at least not that Kaede knows of. She wouldn’t want to work in a cafe in which the owner was involved in extremely shady stuff. She’s just a second-year in an art school who wants to get money so that she can buy a grand piano for her own house and not have to hog the one in the school constantly. Of course, even once she gets it, she’ll hog both anyway, but y’know.   
  
Still, Juggling schoolwork and a part-time job isn’t easy and Kaede found herself having less free time. Sure, she could just wait until she graduates and gets a proper job. Sure, she could enjoy youth while she could and didn’t have to pay her own taxes. But dammit all, she is going to get that piano, proper sleep schedules and social life outside of work and school be damned.   
  
A jingling bell made Akamatsu cease cleaning the counter and she saw her other co-worker, Makoto Naegi, scurrying inside the cafe with damp hair resembling a mop and his uniform and brown cardigan completely soaked. He pushed his bangs away to wave at Akamatsu with a lopsided smile before hurrying to the break room. Forgot his umbrella again, Kaede guessed. He had the worst luck.   
  
“Yukizome-senpai! Naegi-kun’s here, you can take a break!” She half-shouted to Chisa, who now seemed to be staring wistfully at the windows she would have to clean after the rain subsided.  
  
Hearing Kaede call out to her, she chuckled and smiled. “I appreciate the thought, dearie, but I’m fine! I’d like Hinata-kun to get some more shut-eye…”   
  
“Me and Naegi-kun will take it from here. Don’t worry, senpai. Besides, I think he needs a bit of help with drying his clothes.” Kaede reassured, and Chisa looked around the cafe before drawing out an ‘ooookaaaaay’ and dragging the bucket filled with cleaning supplies to the back.   
  
After she left, Kaede crouched down and opened one of the drawers, and as she expected, there was Takumi Hijirihara in his natural habitat, laying curled up next to the coffee bags. “Hijirihara-senpai, can you--”   
  
“Yeah, yeah, I heard ya. I’ll take over for ‘er.” Takumi moaned in his usual bored, low tone and rolled out of the drawer, standing up, stretching and going to the supply closet while scratching his hip. Kaede proceeded to put the knocked over containers in the drawer back up, until she heard the door jingle, signifying a customer coming in. Akamatsu hurried her task and when she finished, tried to get up a little too fast and bonked her head under the concrete countertop. She yelped and hissed, clutching and aggressively massaging her scalp to try and get rid of the pain.   
  
“Um.” Kaede heard a soft, masculine voice call out above her. “Excuse me, are you alright?” it continued, and it seemed to somehow ease the pain a little.    
  
The young student finally got to her feet while still keeping one hand on the bruise. She forced a smile as she greeted the customer.   
  
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine! How can I help youuuuuu…”   
  
When Kaede opened her eyes and looked properly at the boy, she entered a weird trance. She didn’t hit her head  _ so _ hard that she started hallucinating, did she?   
  
The boy in front of the counter was wearing a black newsboy cap and a similarly colored, simple school uniform that Kaede somewhat recognized, but all the focus she had at the moment was on the boy’s face. It was incredibly pale, and completely spotless, with spiky, platinum bangs obscuring his forehead and doing a good job of hiding his face in general.   
  
His blue, piercing eyes looked unreal.   
  
Also, laced with growing concern, she just noticed.   
  
“...uuuuuuuu?” Kaede didn’t even notice she never finished her sentence, but even when she did, her gaping didn’t stop as the pain in the back of her head suddenly became trivial and her hand slid to play with her hair. Standing up straight, Akamatsu noticed she was at least a good five inches taller than the teen before her. Speaking of the guy, he continued staring at her for a few seconds before pointing at the pastry display on her right.   
  
“May I have a medium americano and three chocolate bagels, please?” He voiced his order and the girl suddenly remembered she was still at work.   
  
“COMING RIGHT UP!” She announced a little too loudly, startling the boy and skipping to the coffee machine, before coming back to the counter. “U-Um, that’ll be 1500 yen.”   
  
“Can I pay with debit?”   
  
“Yes, of course! Oh, right, uh, for here or to go?” He gave a confused look at that, so she continued; “Um, are you gonna eat here or planning to take it somewhere else?”   
  
“Oh. Um, to go, then, please.” He said as he fished out his wallet and card.   
  
As the boy punched in the numbers, Kaede stared at him for a little while longer and noticed he had an umbrella hooked under his left elbow. His uniform looked very similar to another one of her high school co-workers’, but that still wasn’t quite it. When he finished, the now-slightly irritated pianist gave him the receipt and rushed to make the coffee and shove the bagels into a paper bag.   
  
When the coffee was done, she put the paper bag and cup in front of him and smiled. “Here you go! Have a good day!”   
  
“Thank you very much.” He politely replied while gathering the food, bowed and turned to leave. The ringing bell wasn’t quite enough to bring Kaede out of her trance. She heard heavy footsteps behind her, which she worked just long enough to already recognize.   
  
“Hijirihara-senpai.” She said, not looking away from the door.   
  
“Yeah.”   
  
“That boy was real, right?”   
  
“No, you payed with your own credit card and threw the coffee out the door while the wind blew it open.”   
  
“...Did I?”   
  
“Nah, I’m screwin’ with ya. Yeah, he was real, alright.” And then the footsteps came back and Takumi slid into Kaede’s point of view, starting to mop the floor.   
  
Another pair of footsteps, this time lighter ones, covered by sneakers, walked into the cafe. “The rain stopped!?” Naegi’s voice made Akamatsu realize that yes, indeed, looking out the big windows, the rain did clear up and that dusk still hasn’t quite settled yet, the still-present sun casting rays of light unto the puddles. “And just after I arrived, too…”   
  
Heels clacking accompanied by a giggle signified Chisa Yukizome’s arrival. “Ehehe, today just doesn’t seem to be your day, huh, Naegi-kun?”   
  
Maybe it wasn’t Naegi’s, but it sure seemed like today was in Kaede’s favor.   
  
For the rest of her shift and even after she came back home and started doing her homework, the visage of platinum hair and sapphire eyes was constantly in the back of the young pianist’s head.


	2. Uniform

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talking to cute customers and asking about their private life isn't in Kaede's job description, but as Kizakura said, when Ruruka isn't around, anything's allowed. In other words, everything is allowed, always.

“Akamatsu, you listenin’?”  
  
Not at all. And the fact that she wasn’t makes Kaede disappointed in herself, given how patient Hoshi was with showing her the ropes first time she decided to work at the cafe. Hoshi has put up with a lot of Kaede’s shit and clumsiness when it comes to new things, the least she could do is listen to him and not have her mind drift off to pitch black uniforms whose school origin was just at the tip of her tongue.  
  
Wait, crap, she was doing it again. Uh.  
  
“S-sorry, senpai! Could you repeat that?”  
  
Said senpai sighed and readjusted his hat, legs propped up on the table as he leaned back on the stacked books of the wooden chair. “I _said_ \--thanks for covering me yesterday. Your next cheese cake at A Cat’s Paw is on me, doll.”  
  
“Senpai, you know just the way to a girl’s heart.”  
  
“Eh.”  
  
At that moment, the door to the break room opened and Hinata staggered in, promptly pushing the two free wooden chairs next to each other and flopping on them. Kaede and Hoshi exchanged a look.  
  
“We should probably start working now.” The pianist whispered, scratching at her cheek sheepishly.  
  
“ _You_ need to start working. I’ve been here since three sharp.”  
  
“ _You’re_ the one who pulled me away!”  
  
==================================================================  
  
The shift was slow. Tuesday evenings at Staruruka’s tended to be. The cafe was located downtown not very far from the train station, which meant tired students from all kinds of various schools would sit here and meet up with friends, work on homework or just get a coffee to survive through the day until rush hour on the subways was over and done with and they could return home.  
  
And so, while she didn’t have to tend to customers and could leave the cleaning to the ever-chipper Yukizome, Akamatsu would find herself people-watching the customers who come into the cafe. Many of them were either business workers in suits, or, more commonly, high school students.  
  
First thing Kaede could point out were the uniforms of her own arts and culture academy, Shining Star International Academy--black sailor uniforms for girls and dark and gray jackets and trousers for the boys.  
  
Because her school had their students wear ties and ribbons with different colors depending on what year they were in, she could easily spot which were first years (blue ribbons and ties, of which there were none in the cafe), second years (red, her own year, as well as their cook’s, Teruteru Hanamura’s. She could see the red head girl and her blonde, pigtailed classmate, who she thought was residing in the built-in elementary when she first saw her. Kaede made an effort to avoid both of them, and sighed internally, lamenting the fact her own classmates and fellow light music club members wouldn’t be arriving today) and third years (green. All of the seniors at her academy seemed to be total weirdos, if the girl with long twin braids reading a book in the corner of the cafe and begrudgingly gnawing at her bagel was any proof). Glancing at the other corner of the cafe, she could see her arts teacher, Mitarai, looking absorbed in his work as always. They locked eyes once and he nearly knocked over his order right when it came. They’ve been avoiding each other for the past hour. Probably for the best.  
  
Leaving her own school out of her mind, Kaede could also scout some familiar faces and uniforms from Hope’s Pass High School, where three of her co-workers (she doesn’t include Hinata, as he always gets a sour look on his face when the school is mentioned, and understandably so) and former middle school stalker-turned-friend are currently studying. Granted, two of those co-workers work shifts opposite of her, but she still considers them her friends. Even if Matsuda threatens to kill anyone who even looks at him wrong and Amami tries to be cryptic in every blue moon of a meeting they have.  
  
Due to being a regular high school, Hope’s Pass students didn’t take their dress code too seriously and their attire ranged from simple white shirts with red-brownish colored ties and ribbons to cardigans to the assigned school jackets. The only ones Kaede could recognize today were two boys, one with short, black hair and the proper uniform on, and the other one with a crazy corn cob-looking pompadour and slightly unbuttoned white shirt, lazily draping both his legs on the table. They seemed to be in a heated debate about... hot springs, of all things...? (Is this what teenage boys are into these days?).  
  
The only other uniforms the pianist could make out were dark jackets and either similarly black pants or greenish, plaid skirts, from Dodonpachi Commercial High. A sports school, despite it’s misleading name. Sometimes Kaede wonders if Saihara signed up for the school not knowing its focus, but his insisting on knowing and her own brain reminding her she’s talking to a young detective bring her mind out of the gutter. She can’t see Kaito or his girlfriend (she thinks it’s his girlfriend?) today, but she can see a young, blonde haired and baby faced girl with looks very similiar to hers (‘ _copy cat’_ the dumb part of her mind that doesn’t know any better supplies before being forcefully pushed back in it’s mind trash where it belongs), smirking and glancing down at her phone while sipping at her caramel macchiato. In the middle of the cafe, the cute couple that frequents the place--a short, brunette girl with an entire plate of donuts in front of her and a big mass of muscles with ragged white hair, gracefully sipping her tea--are caught in their conversation, and Kaede finds herself smiling.  
  
This city was indeed home to many unique schools with many unique students wearing pretty unique uniforms.  
  
But she still couldn’t find _just_ the right one that that boy had.  
  
Remembering the hat, Kaede texted Saihara as soon as he break started to ask if hats are part of the Dodonpachi uniform. She clicked her tongue when he dismissed that theory and low-key asked her if she was okay, though the bad part of her mind thought _Saihara_ thought she was being crazy. Pushing that aside, she asked if there are any white-haired students at his school. He gave a list of suspects while describing their looks. Still no dice and only after he helped her did the poor guy realize he was giving Kaede information about people without their permission. After calming him down and assuring him no one is, was, or was about to be killed, she said her goodnight’s without giving a precise reason why she was suddenly so hellbent on finding a boy who properly wore his uniform and had piercing, icy-blue eyes.  
  
Speaking of which.  
  
Said boy just waltzed through the door, looking exactly the same as the day before and Kaede found herself doing a double take before realizing that yes, this is the boy that was somehow on her mind for the past twenty-four hours.  
  
“Ah, welcome! How can I help you?” She greeted him correctly this time, though he didn’t seem fazed at all.  
  
“Hello.” He greeted her with a slight bow. As if he wasn’t polite before. Was he from some sort of royal house or something? Was he in a private school? “May I have a large Americano and five chocolate bagels, please?” He placed his order.  
  
“Bigger than the one yesterday, huh?” Kaede tried joking, though she didn’t even get a quirk of an eyebrow from the boy. Her laugh fell flat as she announced the price for the order and the silver-haired man whipped out his card again.  
  
As he punched in the numbers, Kaede took her chance and glanced at the mysterious boy’s body, taking a quick glance at the big shoulder bag with a palette similar to his attire. Seriously, his clothes were _near identical_ to the Dodonpachi uniform, just that it was even blacker. Looking closer, she looked for some sort of badge or insignia on the boy’s chest, but found nothing. She kept staring. She didn’t know why. Maybe at the folds in his clothes, in the space where his buttons connected? Actually, those clothes looked a little too small for him. Ironic, given he was quite a bit shorter than the girl. Still, they looked strained. Tight. As if a button would pop if he as much as tried to stretch. Was he muscular? Maybe he really did attend Dodonpachi but just skipped a lot? Well, he definitely didn’t skip leg day, if that was the case. Or arm day. Or push-up day. Or bench press da--  
  
“Can I help you?” The smooth voice brought the pianist back to reality as she just realized she’s been staring at the guy’s chest for a good minute.  
  
_“UM.”_ Kaede eloquently starts and backs up, her face heating up and eyes widening. _“YOUR. CHEST--”_ _  
_ _  
_ _Fuck. No. Fix it fix it fix it_ \--  
  
_“--Uniform!!”_  
  
“...Yes?” He finally lowers his card and actually quirks an eyebrow, clearly confused and slightly uncomfortable. “What about my uniform?”  
  
_Divert!! Divert, goddamnit!_ “Your um, uniform… looks familiar. But I don’t think I recognize it, and it’s been gnawing at me all day.” Wait. Shit. Uh. “W-what school do you go to!? Dodonpachi?”  
  
Kaede took a quick glance around to see the various pairs of eyes on them only to see Yukizome sliding past on her mop as if she was ice skating across the cafe and Hijirihara scrubbing the floor behind the boy, as if to make the eyes in their direction turn back at the janitors. What the hell? Akamatsu appreciated the gesture, but what the hell?  
  
The boy didn’t seem to notice, though, and scanned her face before replying; “I go to Iidabashi Industries High School…”  
  
“Iidabashi… Industries? The one that just opened on the edge of town?” Kaede finally had a name, and she was elated, but still surprised enough to hide her excitement.  
  
“Yes! It’s a technology-based academy that opened just last year…” The boy thankfully forgot the fact the barista was blatantly ogling his chest, so that’s good. And she was learning something new about him, even better. Keep going, Kaede.  
  
“Technology-based? Wow! You must be really smart!” Kaede brushed strands of her hair away as she finally got to making the student’s order.  
  
“Ah, well, no, not really… I’m actually an amateur at such things…” He seemed sad as he said that and looked down sheepishly. _Crap. Fix it._  
  
“Oh? But you got in?”  
  
“My father, um, works there…” He added, voice smaller as he started fiddling with his hands--his gloved hands, Kaede noticed. It was the beginning of May, surely it was warm enough to stop wearing gloves?

“Well, is it tough? The lessons, I mean.” The part timer continued inquiring as she let the milk pour into the cup and started walking to the pastry display.

“Oh, well, not really…? At least I don't think so. Right now I’m just focusing on getting used to school in general.”

“Are you a first year?”

“Yes… I just started this spring.”

He was younger than her? That discovery made Kaede’s heart flutter for a second. “Oh! You’re a year behind me, then!”

“I am? Ah--wait!” The sudden rise in the boy’s volume made the paper bag in Kaede’s hands almost slip from her grasp. She glanced at the boy, just in time to see his face morph from surprise to annoyance. _Even when he was peeved he was cute, what the hell._ “May I ask which school _you_ go to? I think it’s only fair, given I’ve told you so much about mine.”  
  
“Oh! Yeah, that’s fair.” Akamatsu laughed nervously and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear before rolling up the pastry bag. “I’m a second-year at Shining Star International. I’ve always loved music, so I’ve had my eye set on the school ever since I was little.”  
  
“Shining Star International…” The tech student put a balled up fist to his chin, as if in thought, and then perked up. He leaned in a bit over the counter, and Kaede swore his blue eyes were shining. “You mean the art academy!?”  
  
Placing the coffee and bagels gently on the counter, Kaede blinked when she realized she was staring at the boy with wide eyes and responded. “Um, yes? Why?”  
  
“I actually thought about going there too!” He excitedly shook his fists up and down and--holy crap he was _smiling_ , the girl realized. That’s the first time she’s ever seen him smile. She doesn’t know why she’s speaking as if she’s known him for years, she met him literally yesterday, but even so, her image of the cool, mysterious customer was slowly crumbling down in the best way. “But um,” The smile that made the girl’s heart go aflutter again slowly faded as the first-year looked off to the cash register. “I’ve never been to a public school before, so Father and I thought it’d be best I go to a school where he can still keep an eye on me…”  
  
_‘Sounds like you have a real helicopter dad’_ Kaede’s mind stated, and she took in a breath to avoid actually saying it and possibly offending the boy’s parent a day after meeting him. No thank you, she wanted to get on his good side before she starts judging his situation at home. “‘Never went to a public school’...? So, you were homeschooled…?”  
  
“I...” The mysterious boy started messing with his fingers again and darting his eyes around, before stopping at his order and hurriedly taking them. “I should be going now.”  
  
“Oh.” Oh. Crap. Did she ruin it? Did she creep him out? Was she-- “I’m sorry! Was I pushy? I didn’t mean to pry…!”  
  
“N-No, no! It’s alright! You just started talking and I could easily follow the conversation, and I…” He paused and huffed through his nose. It kind of looked like he was trying to cough, but failed… somehow. “Anyways, uhm. Thank you. See you.” He politely bowed and started scurrying towards the exit, hat hiding his face.  
  
“Ah--come again!” Kaede waved and shouted after him, and if she hadn’t had her attention focused solely on him, she’d miss the gentle shake of the hand that held his coffee cup, as if trying to do a wave. The doors were open today due to the sudden spike in the temperature, so Akamatsu thankfully didn’t have to worry about him running into the glass door.  
  
After he left, Kaede was left standing there, bewildered, once again.  
  
Suddenly, her view of the entrance was obscured by a radiant face of a very radiant woman, and the slam of hands on the counter made Akamatsu jump.  
  
“So!? Did you get his name!?” Chisa excitedly prodded.  
  
“Huh!?”  
  
“His name!! His name, Akamatsu-san!! You’ve been giving that kid googly eyes ever since he stepped in! Or does he have a nickname? Did he give you anything!?”  
  
Kaede just made dumb noises with every remark from the full time janitor and part-time-literally-everything-else. When she didn’t reply, the woman’s smile lowered slightly.  
  
“You… _did_ ask his name, right? To put on the coffee cup?”  
  
_‘Like how you’re supposed to do in this job?’_ Yukizome’s strained smile says.  
  
Kaede just laughed nervously. She didn’t know where her co-worker hides her cleaning supplies, given the small availability of the cafe’s uniforms, but she couldn’t really think about that as Yukizome whacked her head with a broom.  
  
==================================================================  
  
“Fath--Professor, I’m home.” A young boy announced as he walked into the dark room. It was only slightly illuminated due to the dozen computers littering the space, but the silence that came unsettled him for a second. Keyword is ‘second’, as he heard a small snore from where the desk was. Shaking his head and smiling, he put the coffee and paper bag a reasonable distance away from the other man’s arms, so that they won’t be knocked over when he moves in his sleep.  
  
The boy strode to the messy bed and picked up the duvet with both arms. He then slowly--cranking his head to the side the whole time, as the sheets were covering his front view--made his way back to the desk and tip-toeing through the wires that littered the floor and laid the duvet over the man’s back. Smiling after considering his work done, his eyes darted to the food. It smelled sweet.  
  
He was almost tempted to take a sip or a bite, before huffing and shaking his head. starting to leave the room. What was he thinking.  
  
Whatever he was thinking about, it was enough to distract him and make him trip on the wires, effectively sending his body slam to the floor with a short scream.  
  
“Welc’me b’ck.” A gruff, muffled voice spoke up from the desk. Even through the sleeves obscuring his mouth, the amusement in the man’s voice couldn’t be hidden.  
  
The boy grumbled in irritation, as you do. All he got in response was a chuckle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I might actually continue this?? But slowly. Like the Love Hotel fic. Which hasn't been updated in a loooooong time and I'm gonna do my best to finish it soon.
> 
> In case you were curious, the schools and uniforms in this AU are based off of the normie V3 cast;
> 
> Shining Star International - Kaede's former school. Kaede and Shinguji's uniforms.
> 
> Hope's Pass High School - Amami's former school. Amami and Angie's uniforms.
> 
> Dodonpachi Commercial High - Momota's former school. Momota and Tenko's uniforms.
> 
> Iidabashi Industies High School - Kiibo's former school. Kiibo and Iruma's uniforms.
> 
> Two other school will be mentioned, but that's for later.


	3. Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mystery boy stays over at the cafe. Meanwhile, various friends of Kaede's stop by.

“Akamatsu, can you come over here?” Hoshi called as he opened the door to the break room slightly ajar.   
  
“I’m on break.” Kaede responded, not looking up from her history homework.   
  
“The white-haired guy you’ve been ogling is here.”   
  
In a quick flurry of papers fluttering to the ground, the girl sprinted out to the front of the cafe, stupidly wide grin fading as she only saw the creepy, long-haired third-year with the mouth mask from Kaede’s school, ordering something from a more than slightly unsettled Naegi. She grumbled and tilted her head to the side to glare down at Ryoma, who was casually sliding up beside her.   
  
“Senpai, there are better ways to get me back to work than--” She ceased her complaint as Hoshi leaned against the wall and pointed towards the left side of the cafe. She followed his directions and saw the customer walking away to another place in the cafe, revealing--   
  
The boy actually _ sitting  _ in one of the booths, all by himself, mulling over what seemed to be a bunch of homework.   
  
Akamatsu quickly hid behind the wall.   
  
“Oh my god, he’s  _ here _ . He’s actually  _ staying here  _ for more than three minutes.”   
  
“Yup. Thought I might let you know, since you’ve been staring at him everytime he’s come here.”   
  
“He’s come here like,  _ twice _ . The first time you weren’t even  _ here _ .”   
  
“Yukizome loves to talk your ear off, whether you’re willing to lend one or not. By the way, you’re welcome for taking my shift.”    
  
Akamatsu groaned and dragged her hands across her face. She’s not a waitress, could she just walk up and talk to him like  _ ‘Hey I’ve been staring at you every time you’ve come here so now I wanna talk to you so that my co-workers will stop calling me a stalker, what’s up’?  _ Yeah, no thanks.   
  
She heard a bell ringing, but still didn’t reveal her face. Hoshi, however, spoke up again. “Well, you don’t wanna talk to him, maybe you’ll wanna talk to them?”   
  
Confused, Akamatsu peeked through her fingers at Hoshi, just as he nodded his head towards the counter and pushed himself off the wall, striding back to the break room. Looking over, the weight on Kaede’s heart suddenly felt lighter.   
  
“Sayaka-chan! Ibuki-chan!” Kaede called out, taking a few steps into the main area of the cafe and waving the girls over to catch their attention. She succeeded, as her fellow classmates waved back--the idol less enthusiastically than the guitarist, but still.   
  
“ _ Kaede-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!  _ Kaede-chan-Kaede-chan-Kaede-chan- _ Kaede-chaaaaaaan _ !!” Ibuki chanted as she energetically skipped to the pianist and then glomped her, burying her face in Kaede’s hair. “It’s been so long since we’ve seen each other!! Ibuki’s been so lonely!!”   
  
“We saw each other  _ yesterday _ …” Kaede sighed, even as hugged the other girl back.   
  
“And that’s one yesterday  _ too long! _ ” The musician quickly pulled away and thrust a finger in the pianist’s face.   
  
“With you working in the cafe and on your performances, and with me doing idol lessons, Ibuki-chan’s been pretty bored without us. So she wants to hog us for today, even if she has to keep us on a leash.” Sayaka giggled from behind the punk rock girl.   
  
“Ah! Exactly! You really  _ can _ read minds, Sayaka-chan!” Mioda applauded.   
  
“No, just good intuition.”   
  
The other girls hummed in suspicion, and then laughed it off. Kaede’s eyes wandered to the booth where she saw the mystery boy, and what she found slowly replaced her smile with surprise.   
  
At the span of no more than a few minutes, three more people seated themselves at the Iidabashi student’s booth. Next to him she saw a short, meek, light brown-haired girl with a laptop in front of her, wearing a uniform Kaede didn’t recognize, a white shirt with an orange ribbon and a brown skirt. On the other side of their booth, a tall girl with long, messy blonde hair seemed to be in a heated debate with the guy next to her, one with hot pink hair covered by a beanie. She couldn’t see their whole bodies, but the loud girl seemed to have the same uniform as the other girl and the guy was in what… looked like a yellow jumper? One of the kinds that mechanics wear, she thinks?   
  
“Yahoooooo, Kaede-chaaaaan! Anyone hooooooome?” Her train of thought was interrupted as Mioda’s curious expression blocked her view.

  
“Ah--y-yeah! I’m listening!”   
  
“No, you weren’t!”   
  
“No, I wasn’t.”   
  
As Ibuki continued pouting at her, from the corner of her eye, Akamatsu saw Maizono turn to look in the direction of the Iidabashi student and his friends. She then turned back to Kaede, and threw a small smile her way. Kaede started chanting ‘ _ please don’t please don’t’  _ in her head, and the blue haired idol only responded by smiling wider. It was her normal, small smile, but somehow it looked so cruel. Goddamnit, Maizono.   
  
“C’mon! You owe Ibuki a pumpkin spice latte for ignoring her! Super duper extra sweet!” The musician ordered, even as she dragged her to another booth.   
  
“It’s spring! And you  _ always _ take your coffee ridiculously sweet!”   
  
“Details!”   
  
As the light music club members chatted, Akamatsu couldn’t help but relax. Mioda was hard to deal with with her energetic personality and Maizono was nice, but unnecessarily enigmatic all the time and especially loved to play mind games. But the pianist loved them both.   
  
While Kaede had a lot of acquaintances, Kaede didn’t have that many friends, especially ones she could prattle on to her interests about. Really, the only ones Kaede talks to these days are Ibuki and Sayaka. Ever since she decided to take up the job in second year, she had to drop a lot of the work she assigned for in first year because she was so busy. Of course, Kaede sometimes regrets quitting…   
  
“Kaede-chan, don’t feel bad. You’re pursuing your passions, aren’t you?”   
  
“Ah…”   
  
Sayaka suddenly spoke up and knowingly smiled at Kaede.   
  
“Aw, crap, Sayaka-chan’s using her psychic-not-psychic powers to communicate with Kaede-chan while leaving Ibuki-chan out of the loop again.” The punk girl lamented while scratching the back of her head.   
  
“Kaede-chan, you’re thinking about the student council again, aren’t you?” Sayaka suddenly got a serious look on her face. Feeling guilty about lying, Kaede nodded, at which Ibuki sprung up from her seat.   
  
“Whaaaaat!? You’re thinking about that stuff again!? Geeeeez…” She sat down in her seat again, but continuing to glare at Akamatsu. “Kaede-chan, you were an amazing class president and an even amazing-er student council representative, but you were working yourself to the bone with all the work! If Ibuki-chan had to juggle being the prez, rep, famous musician, cutest girl in school who gets all the chocolates on Valentine’s and has to reject everyone AND being a high school student, she’d have all her hair fall out and used as guitar strings!”   
  
“Guitar strings…?”   
  
“Ibuki-chan has her will and testament all panned out.” Ibuki crossed her arms and nodded, smiling smugly. “Being a rockstar is pretty serious business, y’know.”   
  
“Ah… That’s… responsible, of you…?” The pianist smiled crookedly.   
  
“Indeed! But first-year Kaede-chan was more responsible than a mother of twenty moonlighting as a phantom thief! Ibuki-chan’s personally glad to see you now. So much more relaxed, so much more happy! So much more spending time in the light music club!” She cried out the last part of her sentence.   
  
“She’s right, you know.” Sayaka brought the attention on herself. “Back then, you barely had time or strength to even participate in our activities, but you still showed up, if only to say hello. You’re so much more calm after you quit all the council work and devoted yourself to one club.” She then smiled and tilted her head. “You’re saving up to get your very own piano, right? You’re devoting yourself to your passion as a pianist, and Ibuki-chan and I couldn’t be happier to see our friend follow her dreams.”   
  
“Yeah!! We’re gonna be the best musicians Kousei’s ever known!!” Ibuki boomed, pumping her fists in the air before performing on an air guitar.   
  
Kaede couldn’t help but smile. She wiped at her eyes to rid herself of the incoming tears.   
  
“Gosh… I was expecting to cry today because of some rude customer, not this…”   
  
“Awwwww, Kaede-chaaaaan, don’t cry…! Ibuki-chan’s gonna cry, too…!”   
  
Akamatsu huffed out a laugh. She sometimes regretted putting all the work she herself decided to put on her shoulders aside… but her friends remind her just what is really precious to her.   
  
“I love you guys.”   
  
“And we love you too.”   
  
“SO MUCH!!!”   
  
They chatted until Kaede’s break was over, and even after they said their goodbyes, Kaede’s heart still felt warm.

 

==================================================================   
  
During her shift, after Kaede managed to calm herself from crying again (Yukizome gave her as many tissues as she needed, bless her heart) she got the chance to finally get a clearer look at the mystery boy and his friends.

 

On the table, there were stacks of blueprints, papers and notebooks, and each of them except for the guy in the yellow jumper had their own laptops. Top it all off with the fact that the two girls at the table had the same uniform and you come to the conclusion that they’re all probably students from Iidabashi High too. Akamatsu wondered whether they were working on homework or a big project, assigned already so early in the semester. Either possibility sent a chill down her spine, and she promptly pushed that question to the back of her brain.   
  
Most of the conversations at the table consisted of the taller guy and girl arguing (or crying, Akamatsu had to blink several times at how quick the mood changed in the booth) so much that they weren’t really making any progress until the white-haired boy or meek girl spoke up and put them back on track.   
  
Makoto and Hoshi often made rounds on the table, and came back looking tousled, tired from just being near them.   
  
“They sure are a lively bunch…” Makoto, the current barista in charge of handling the group sighed as he told Kaede the orders placed. “But…” He then smiled, more to himself than anyone else. “It’s nice to see Fujisaki-kun making friends.”   
  
The girl looked up from the coffee machine and at the Hope’s Pass student before resuming making the drinks. “Fujisaki-kun?”   
  
“Ah, the brown-haired boy over there.” He pointed to the loud booth. “That’s Chihiro Fujisaki-kun.”   
  
“...Naegi-kun, there’s no brown haired boys there.”   
  
“Uh… actually,  _ that’s _ a guy.”   
  
...A pause as Kaede dumbfoundedly blinked a few times at her co-worker, back to the group, to Makoto, to the group. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish in shallow water.

 

The musician leaned in, and whispered, more like hissed. “ _ That’s a guy?? _ ”   
  
“Yeah, it’s a long story, but he’s dealt with some stuff. Just don’t be too insensitive about it, okay?”   
  
“Ah… o-okay, I shouldn’t judge…”   
  
“I don’t think it’s what you think it is, but just be nice to him if you guys ever talk.”   
  
“Yeah… where do you know, um… Fujisaki-kun from, anyway?”   
  
Makoto walked around the counter and placed the tray on one of the shelves. “He’s a friend of my classmates’. I think they go to the gym together…?”   
  
“...Don’t tell me he’s friends with--”   
  
Naegi already knew what she was going to say, and started waving his hands around before she could utter  _ the name _ , lest he appear. “Oh, no! No, no, no, I’d… rather they  _ never _ meet, for Fujisaki-kun’s sake…” He looked to the floor.   
  
“Wow… Okay, well, do you maybe know what school he goes to?”   
  
Makoto hummed, putting a finger to his chin. “Iidabashi Industries, If I remember right.”   
  
Yup, so Akamatsu’s guess was right. “Is he a first-year?   
  
“No, same grade as us.”   
  
So that meant Fujisaki was the boy’s senpai. Huh... “Well… do you know who the boy next to him is?”   
  
“Who?” He glanced over, realizing what she meant in the middle of his question and cancelling his action. “Ah, no… I have no idea who the rest of them are… Actually, wait.” He put his hand to his mouth again. “The pink haired guy knows Hinata-san, I think? I remember him coming over sometimes and walking home with him… senpai looked really annoyed when he was around, though…”   
  
“You’re… scarily attentive, Naegi-kun.”   
  
“Ah--no, I’m just a normal guy, really…”   
  
Kaede only sighed as she went back to making the coffee. “You and Sayaka-chan are meant for each other.”   
  
“Wha-- _ no!! _ W-We’re not like that…!”   
  
Kaede tuned him out.   
  
_ Made _ for each other.   
  
==================================================================   
  
“Hinata-kun, wake up. My love life might depend on you.”   
  
The man snorted from his chair as he regained consciousness. “Whazzat?”   
  
“Do you know a loud pink-haired guy wearing a beanie and mechanic jumper who also cries a lot, perchance?”   
  
Hinata blinked slowly and scrunched up his face as he looked up at Akamatsu’s determined expression. “...Yes, I do. Now leave me alone.” He thunked his head against the table.   
  
“Hinata-kun! I need more info! What’s his name? Which school does he go to? Does he know the name of a white-haired boy with icy blue eyes!?”   
  
Hajime raised his head slightly so that his voice isn’t muffled. “Kazuichi Souda, Iidabashi Industries, and fuck if I know. Now get out.” He brought head down like a guillotine on his crossed arms.   
  
“Thanks anyway!” Kaede patted the man’s arm and went to exit the break room before Hoshi notices she’s been gone. He probably already has, but whatever.   
  
“Fuck you.” Hajime mumbled.   
  
“I heard that.”   
  
She got a grumble in response.   
  
He’s had a long day, so she’ll let it slide just this once. Next time he’ll get a kick where the sun doesn’t shine that will surely leave him awake for next of his two shifts.   
  
==================================================================   
  
Hoshi did notice. His icy, disappointed stare was somehow more painful than a lecture would’ve been.   
  
What was even more disappointing was that the guy Kaede just inquired and had Hajime lose sleep over was standing by the booth with a bag slung over his shoulder, arms clasped together in an apology to his friends. Before they could respond, he dashed out the door.   
  
“Hey!! Who the fuck’s gonna pay for the coffee, car fucker!?” The blonde girl yelled after him and shook her fist.   
  
“Iruma-senpai, I’ll pay for him, it’s okay…” The boy Kaede’s been doing her investigation on spoke up, putting his hands up in a calming manner.   
  
“P-Please don’t shout in such a public place…” Fujisaki tried to calm her down.   
  
“Hah~? Well then, how ‘bout you pay for me too, huh~?” Iruma--apparently, also a second or third year, so she’s not his classmate--returned to her seat and leaned over the table, a sleazy look on her face and sending an even sleazier look towards the boy.   
  
“No.” The answer was almost immediate.   
  
“Kh--y-you didn’t have to reject me right away…!” Her confident persona crumbled in 0.53 seconds, and she was now shaking and shyly fiddling with her ribbon.   
  
The boy only sighed and insisted they carry on with their project. Their conversation wasn’t as easy to hear now, since the other customers weren’t silent due to the commotion anymore and went on with their own talks.   
  
However, Kaede never got the chance to look at the boy for this long, and as she made the ordered coffee, she kept sneaking glances at the table he was at.   
  
There’s nothing she hasn’t noticed before, other than the fact that he looks a bit exhausted, and that he looks cute with his eyes downcast on the papers scattered in front of him, and his cheeks look adorable when smooshed between the fist he’s leaning his cheek on--   
  
Shit. He saw her. Kaede hid behind the coffee machine. She took a deep breath as she took the now-poured coffee from the machine’s stand.   
  
“Nishishi~”   
  
She nearly crushed a well-brewed paper cup of coffee at the sudden familiar laugh behind her.   
  
“How long have you been there.” From the corner of her eye, Kaede could see Makoto come up to the counter, widen his eyes in horror and do an u-turn.   
  
“Long enough.” He put his hands behind his head nonchalantly, grinning like the cheshire he’s well-known as. “You’re so easy to read, even after all the time we’ve spent together, Akamatsu-chan! I’m appalled!”   
  
“Nice to see you too, Ouma-kun.” Akamatsu smiled crookedly.   
  
Kokichi Ouma giggled his annoying giggle again. It’s not as if Kaede wasn’t happy to see him again, but it was still exhausting to deal with a guy like him, no matter how long you’ve known him.   
  
==================================================================   
  
Ouma and Kaede knew each other from middle school, though she didn’t even know he existed until halfway through their first year.   
  
She first saw him when he was lurking around hallways and blatantly staring at her. The second time, from the classroom windows during lunch breaks, making her choke on her sandwich. The  _ third _ time, he was basically following her home, and that was about enough of a reason for Akamatsu to call him out on it.   
  
_ ‘Are you gonna talk to me or are you just gonna keep staring?’ _   
  
_ ‘How about both?’ _ _  
_ _  
_ _ ‘...Okay??’ _ _  
_ _  
_ Since then, they’ve developed a… friendship?? They ate lunches together, and talked often, though mostly it was just Ouma playing mind games with Kaede and encouraging her to join his ‘secret cult’. She never figured out if he was serious about that, and she’s not sure if she’ll ever find out.   
  
They had weird chemistry, but he was actually the only friend Kaede had at the time, which was pretty sad. Kaede’s always had trouble opening up to people in the past, and Kokichi was Kokichi.   
  
She often had to patch up his wounds. He insisted it was  _ ‘evil supreme ruler’  _ business, but she could see past his lies well enough by then. It wasn’t exactly a secret that the kids at their school weren’t very considerate or hospitable, either. At least she knows how to use first-aid well enough now.   
  
He also confessed his love to her on numerous occasions, which Kaede didn’t know how to respond to.   
  
Though they...  _ somehow _ started dating one day...   
  
_ ‘Akamatsu-chan, go out with me!’ _ _  
_ _  
_ _ ‘Okay.’ _ _  
_ _  
_ _ ‘Wow, you’re easy.’’ _ _  
_ _  
_ _ ‘Ouma-kun, I  _ **_will_ ** _ throw this pudding at you.’ _ _  
_ _  
_ ...it didn’t last very long.   
  
Maybe they just didn’t click together or they saw themselves more as friends and family. She didn’t know. But Ouma still stuck around her despite their break-up (which wasn’t as messy as Kaede was always led to believe they were) and followed her around. Kaede didn’t mind, he wasn’t that bad when you got used to him. Emphasis on not  _ that _ bad.   
  
Then next year rolled around, and a festival was held at their school. Students from other junior highs were actually coming to see their exhibitions, and as Kaede and Ouma were talking at the cafe stand (some fate, huh?) the girl was currently having control over, Akamatsu saw a familiar face.   
  
They chatted, and Ouma threw a few of his charming insults towards the guy’s way. He stormed off in a huff, claiming he needed to find his underclassman friends since they always seemed to attract trouble when he wasn’t around.   
  
Waving his pleasant and not-so-pleasant goodbyes at them (thanks, Kokichi), the purple haired boy turned to the pianist when he was out of earshot.   
  
_ “Akamatsu-chan.” _ _  
_ _  
_ _ “Yeah?” _ _  
_ _  
_ _ “If you give me that guy’s number, I’ll buy you the cheesecake you li--.” _ _  
_ _  
_ _ “Deal.” _ _  
_ _  
_ _ “You’re kind of a jerk, huh, Akamatsu-chan.” _ _  
_ _  
_ _ “You were gonna steal my phone anyway.” _ _  
_ _  
_ _ “Nishishi.” _   
  
Anyway, even after getting a new crush to stalk, Ouma never really drifted apart from the pianist, even after graduation. Since they were in separate classes, they were used to not seeing each other all the time, and being in whole different schools didn’t discourage the boy, thus he often stopped by the cafe to tease his friend and make life harder for her.   
  
“Akamatsu-chan, stop your trip across memory lane about our friendship in middle school and take my order already!”   
  
“Yeah, yeah. The usual?”   
  
“Iced, half-caff, ristretto, venti, 4-pump, sugar free, cinnamon, dolce soy skinny latte! With double foam!”   
  
“One soy latte, coming right up.”   
  
“Customer service these days.” Ouma scoffed as he leaned on the counter. “Can’t even get an order right. And--” He rocked back on his heels. “You guys even let in the Iidabashi High nerd pack--minus one.”  He looked over his shoulder at the booth the pianist’s been staring at. “Are you guys suffering from bankruptcy that you’re letting that lot stay here?”   
  
“Wait--!” She caught his attention, and he stared curiously at her. She put the finished latte on the counter, instead directing her attention at the other student. “You know who they are!?”   
  
“Yup, yup, I know everybody, remember?” He smiled innocently.   
  
“Th-then… do you know the name of the guy…?” She discreetly pointed in the boy’s direction, and Ouma gaze followed.   
  
“Chihiro Fujisaki-chan, he’s a second-year, and a great hacker! Huuuuge pushover, though. Pretended he was a girl up until high school. He’s friends with Mondo Oowada-chan and Kiyotaka Ishimaru-chan from my class.”   
  
“The one with the corn hair? Wait--no--not that one--!”   
  
“He’s also the white-haired guy’s cousin.”   
  
Akamatsu stared, then took a breath. “Ouma-kun, what do you know about him?”   
  
The devious smirk Ouma was known for slowly appeared on his features.“Everything.”   
  
“Then--tell me  _ anything _ !” Kaede leaned in, determined, and slammed her hands on the counter. “Like his name!”   
  
“Ah~, Akamatsu-chan.” Ouma extended his arms out to Kaede, taking her face in his hands. “Akamatsu-chan, Akamatsu-chan, my dear, sweet, beloved, Akamatsu-chan.” He suddenly squeezed her cheeks and pulled her dangerously close to his face.   
  
“That guy…” He retrieved one hand from her face to thrust a thumb behind him. “...is a mystery you’re better off solving for yourself.”   
  
The pianist gaped at him, and when she opened her mouth to say something, the checkered scarf boy released her and swiped his latte. “In other words, just this once, no spoilers from me! You gotta solve that mystery yourself!” He winked, and waved. “Say hello to Naegi-chan for me!”   
  
“Wha--Hey!! He’s  _ your _ classmate!”   
  
“Hi, Iruma-chan! You look like shit as always!” Ouma suddenly shouted to the left, before abruptly leaving the cafe.   
  
Akamatsu was left silent yet again. For a completely different reason this time, though.   
  
Looking on as Fujisaki and Kaede’s… okay,  _ crush _ tried to comfort a shuddering Iruma, the Kousei student sighed and went back to work, thinking up various ways she could finally confront the guy outside of doing an order.   
  
==================================================================   
  
The target is alone.   
  
His fellow students of Iidabashi Industries have already left the cafe after saying their ‘goodbye’s and ‘later, loser’s.   
  
He was still at the booth, mulling over his homework.   
  
“Ya sure you don’t want me to just knock him out and bring him to the back?” Hijirihara peeked his head out from the cupboard and looked up at Akamatsu skulking behind the coffee machine… again.   
  
“Thanks for the offer, but no. I wanna be careful about this…”   
  
Takumi shrugged and retreated to his hiding spot. Yukizome didn’t seem to be at all bothered by the girl’s actions. Hoshi was judging beside her, but kept his mouth shut. Naegi and Hinata were especially disturbed by Akamatsu’s stalking, especially the latter, who was the only night shift employee who still had no idea what was going on regarding Kaede’s new target of affection. Whoops. Gonna have to fill him in later.   
  
“Excuse me, I’m looking for--Akamatsu-san?” A girl’s voice brought Kaede out of her thoughts and she turned her head to find two judgemental gazes of Hoshi and…   
  
“Sh-Shirogane-san! I was. Umm....” Kaede stuttered as she straightened her posture, nervously brushing her hair back and fiddling with it as she darted her eyes at anywhere except her classmate and ex-fellow student council member, Tsumugi Shirogane.   
  
“Akamatsu-san, when I said you might find a love interest in a regular customer to get the full cafe employee experience, I didn’t think you’d actually take it seriously…” Kaede’s classmate, still clad in uniform, adjusted her glasses, as if to make sure she’s seeing the right person.   
  
“I-I wasn’t stalking anybody!!”   
  
“Yeah, you were.” Hoshi interjected.   
  
“You were, sweetheart.” Chisa said, as she zoomed by on her broom.   
  
“No offense…” Naegi added apologetically.   
  
“I don’t even know what’s going on and I’m too afraid to ask at this point.” Hajime said as he put his tray on the counter and promptly walked off.   
  
The pianist sucked in a breath. Traitors. All of them.   
  
“Well, I’m happy for you, Akamatsu-san!” Shirogane smiled and put her hands on her hips. “When I recommended the part-time job for you, I didn’t think you’d actually take it, let alone take my advice and find your special someone here! In anime and manga, it’s usually the president who’s the main focus, so with you being the rep and me being the secretary, it’s obvious neither of us really had chances of finding someone, so I’m so glad you--”   
  
“THANK YOU, SHIROGANE-SAN.” Akamatsu loudly interrupted and grinned angrily, holding in a snarl. Yeah, Shirogane was the one who let Kaede know about the cafe downtown hiring high-schoolers. Of course, Tsumugi only knew about it because she thought it was a maid cafe. Turns out, she got the wrong part of Ruruka’s chain, but still, at least somebody got something out of it.   
  
Like a social life.   
  
Akamatsu sighed and looked over to the boy’s booth.   
  
Wait, he was already packing up. Oh crap, he was leaving.   
  
“Um--!” Kaede looked between her employees and customer, hands waving through the air aimlessly.   
  
Tsumugi tilted her head, and looked behind her. “Oh, Kiibo-kun!” She smiled, turned around to the boy-- _ Kiibo _ ?? “Good evening.” and bowed.   
  
“Shirogane-senpai! Good evening.”  _ Kiibo _ ? bowed as well. Way lower than she did, almost at a 60 degree angle. Voice even.   
  
_ Kiibo??? _ _  
_ _  
_ **_Yes_ ** _. Kiibo. we know his name. Shut up, act cool. _ _  
_ _  
_ “Kiibo?” Kaede blurted out.   
  
_ Goddamnit. _ _  
_ _  
_ Shirogane looked at Kaede, back at Kiibo--who looked a tad uncomfortable under the otaku’s gaze, understandably so--blinked a couple times and then looked to Kaede again, pushing up her glasses. Oh, god, she’s doing the megane thing. That means she knows, doesn’t she. Oh no.   
  
“Allow me to introduce you.” The pianist’s classmate suddenly said, a sly smile adorning her features.   
  
_ Wait. No. This is good. Right? _   
  
“Kiibo-kun, this is Kaede Akamatsu-san, my classmate. Akamatsu-san, Kiibo Iidabashi-kun. A… friend, of mine.” Tsumugi waved her hand to whoever she was currently addressing.   
  
Icy blue eyes met lilac ones.   
  
Both of them blinked before doing anything.   
  
“I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Akamatsu-senpai.”  _ Kiibo _ bowed just as deeply as he did to the blue-haired student.

 

This was happening.   
  
“Nice to meet you too! Um, Iidabashi-kun.” Kaede bowed as well. God, now she knew why Hinata felt about being called ‘senpai’ the way he did.   
  
_ Well, you know his name. That’s the first step to solving the ‘mystery’. _ _  
_ _  
_ Kaede didn’t know why she thought that in Ouma’s voice, but she hated it. _  
  
_

“I’m outta here.” Hoshi, whose existence had been totally forgotten, decided he finally deserved a break and hopped off the stool they had reserved for his job at the counter, put his hands in his pockets and skulked off to the back. Poor guy.

_  
_ “Kiibo-kun goes to--” Tsumugi started again.   
  
“--Iidabashi Industries, I know.” Kaede interrupted, smiling, as to not imply she meant to be rude.   
  
“We talked a bit before, Shirogane-senpai. Was she the acquaintance you spoke of?” He tilted his head up to look at the girl’s face. His movements were quick and proper, almost as if he were a stop-motion mannequin, and the musician couldn’t help but find that a bit disturbing, yet fascinating at the same time.   
  
_ I think your co-workers are right. something’s wrong with your taste. _ _  
_ _  
_ _ Shh. _   
  
“Yup. She makes a  _ great  _ Forte, doesn’t she!?” Shirogane suddenly raised her voice.   
  
“...I still don’t know who that is.” Iidabashi frowned.   
  
“Me neither…”   
  
“Filthy normies.” The woman frowned as her demeanor suddenly changed.   
  
“Ah--um…!” The boy adjusted his bag and looked back and forth between the two girls. “I am really sorry to cut this short, but I really have to go… it’s late, and my father’s most likely worried. Senpai,” He bowed  _ again. _ Seriously. Noble house. Kaede’s theory about him being an aristocrat still stands. “Have a good night.” He straightened up and walked to the door.   
  
“Good night!” Both the girls said at the same time as the bell jingled.   
  
Silence.   
  
Shirogane slowly turned her head to Akamatsu. And there was that grin again.   
  
“And so it begins…”   
  
“ _ Nothing’s  _ beginning.” The pianist squinted.   
  
“The cafe au is becoming a reality…!” Shirogane clasped her hands, sparkling eyes looking up at the ceiling.   
  
“What are you even talking about!? And-- wait, how do you know Iidabashi-kun?” Akamatsu’s shouting quickly changed into curious murmuring.   
  
Shirogane was brought out of her reverie, and scratched at her cheek. “Ah, it’s… a bit of a long story… Also, I’m beat from council work. Can we talk over coffee?”   
  
“We’re closing in an hour, so, maybe another time?”   
  
“Sure, sure.” The blue-head nodded, adjusting her glasses yet again and smiling, more to herself than anything. “I’ll be coming over to this place a lot more often from now on, anyway, fufufu~”   
  
Yeah. Definitely closing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday, Kiibo, and Happy Halloween, everyone!!!!!!


End file.
